the_wiki_of_noobfandomcom-20200215-history
User blog:BeastMan14/Historical Review: "Scott Pilgrim vs the World" Is A Vibrant, Action-Packed Love Story for the 21st Century
Edgar Wright's first non-British film, and easily his most underappreciated, Scott Pilgrim vs the World is potentially, in terms of pure visual style, the most faithful comic book adaption to ever hit the screen. Looking and feeling like a mixture of comic and video game, the film excitedly jumps genre from indie comedy to quirky romance to kung-fu brawler without missing a beat, and when paired with a strong cast of up and comers, it becomes one of the most imaginative and memorable films to ever grace the big screen. The Cast Scott Pilgrim's cast is fascinating because it's full of actors who are now much larger stars than they were at the time. Aubrey Plaza, Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Anna Kendrick all play roles in the cast, and all are fairly strong, even if most only have bit roles. As the titular Scott Pilgrim, Micheal Cera plays his bread and butter "awkward nerd" character, but turns it on it's head. Cera's take on Pilgrim is absent-minded, selfish, and somewhat ignorant (in other words, every 20something), but it's impossible not to root for him because of how accidentally charming he is. As his love interest Ramona Flowers, Mary Elizabeth Winstead refuses to play by the traditional "Manic Pixie Dream Girl", often playing a more stoic, competent, but equally uncertain and damaged foil to Scott and giving their scenes together immensely enjoyable chemistry and banter. In terms of Scott's close circle of "friends", the easiest scene-stealer is Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Scott's cool, gay roommate. Culkin's Wallace is often hilarious, ready with a quip or putdown, but fully realized as a man with his own ambitions and interests that just happen to run parallel to Scott's. As Scott's bandmates on Sex Bob-Omb, Mark Webber and Allison Pill serve as a strange yin-yang, with Webber's perpetually stressed and panicking Stephen Stills (an apparent hero in his own story) and Pill's stoic, bitter Kim Pine being balanced by Cera. As Scott's secondary love interest Knives Chau, Ellen Wong is a standout, accurately portraying teen heartbreak, angst, and excitement with simple facial expressions and speech patterns, while her chemistry with Cera was so on-point that the original ending had them ending up together. Of course, a film dealing with seven evil exes wouldn't work if each ex wasn't immensely entertaining, and the casting on this passes with flying colors, even though each ex has little time to leave an impression. Satya Bhabba chews scenery as Matthew Patel, using his limited screentime to deliver one of the film's most memorable fight scenes, while Chris Evans is practically unrecognizable, with the charm that made him Captain America replaced with douchey, swaggering arrogance. Brandon Routh pulls off a similar trick, making the audience forget that he was once Superman as the brutish, smug Todd Ingram, forming a perfectly unlikable duo with Brie Larson's Envy Adams, who plays a perfect femme fatale with moments of rare sympathy sprinkled throughout, making the audience perfectly understand why Scott once loved her. Mae Whitman is another scenery-chewer as Roxy Richter, a raging, violent ball of fury who exits just as explosively as she arrives, while Jason Schwartzman is almost pitch-perfect as a dark mirror to Scott, and his Gideon Graves is confident, intimidating, and deeply amoral, making his final fight with Scott all the more satisfying. The only real letdown of the exes are Shota and Keita Saito as the Katanyagi Twins, who are stripped of the intelligence and evil wit that made them interesting villains in favor of a more generic techno vibe, even if their scene is a standout. Ultimately, Scott Pilgrim has an absolutely stellar cast, and like many ensemble films, it at times struggles to give them all something to work with. Score: 4.5 out of 5 The Story Scott Pilgrim is pretty much a perfect source material for Edgar Wright, with him and Micheal Bacall perfectly capturing the tone and charm of Bryan Lee O'Malley's original source material. The characters in Scott Pilgrim feel like real, often flawed people, no matter how over-the-top and goofy the world around them is. They talk over each other, bicker, make fun of each other, and often struggle to find the right words for the situations they're in. The dialogue is clever and there's several excellent gags (as to be expected from Wright, who is arguably the most clever comedy director working today), but what works best about the film is how it's absurdity is handled. The characters live in a world where kung-fu battles, telekinetic vegans, and hyperspace routes through people's brains are the norm, and they act accordingly, enabling the personal struggles of the characters seem much more poignant and important despite the inherent zaniness of their surroundings. Sure, Scott's a skilled fighter, but it can't (and won't) make his problems go away, nor will Ramona's ability to travel through dreams help her escape her issues. The only real gripes with the script are that it sometimes lacks the growth that made the original books so beloved. While Scott ultimately comes to terms with himself and his ignored flaws, it lacks the same catharsis, as Scott never quite become unlikable enough for the changes to ring true. But that's an issue of comparing the script to it's source material, so it's largely moot. Score: 4.5 out of 5 The Direction Edgar Wright may not be my favorite director working today, but he's certainly the one with the most raw talent. If he wants to dabble in a genre, he'll do so with often superb results and Scott Pilgrim is another example of this. The film's fight scenes are fast, fun, and frequent, often easy to follow and immensely creative. From an outright brawl to a bass battle to a battle of the bands by way of a kaiju fight to a two-on-one synchronized duel, each fight is immensely memorable in execution and style, helped by Wright's frequent collaborator's Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos, who tightly edit the film's beats to near-perfection. Every cut builds up something, be it a brutal blow or a well-placed joke. (One scene, meant to underscore Scott's inability to focus, is a perfect example of this.) Of course, the true brilliance of the film is it's visual style, created by cinematographer Bill Pope, that truly elevates the film to classic status. Pope's legendary work with virtual cinematography on The Matrix is put to excellent use here, as the film perfectly replicates the feel of both the comics (through it's use of visual onomatopeia and framing) and 80's videogames (through usage of visual effects to craft fight scenes). Pope's work is career-best level, and it's impossible to imagine the film without it. Every aspect of the film's aesthetic feels perfectly crafted and taken straight from the page, from the outfits to the over-the-top set design to Nigel Godrich's score, which takes from the best video game themes to create something that alternates between poppy and grungy to suit the mood. Score: 5 out of 5 Final Verdict Scott Pilgrim vs the World came out at an awkward time in the comic book movie boom and was largely slept on by audiences, but a rewatch confirms it to be one of the very best films ever produced for the genre. It's got humor, style, and heart, alongside an excellent cast, and deserves to be watched by anyone who considers themselves a fan of comicbook movies, or even a fan of good films in general. Overall Score: 93% Hypothetical Ballot Spots: *Best Picture *Best Director: Edgar Wright *Best Actor: Micheal Cera *Best Supporting Actress: Ellen Wong *Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin *Best Male Limited Performance: Chris Evans *Best Female Limited Performance: Brie Larson *Best Adapted Screenplay *Best Visual Effects (wins) *Best Cinematography (wins) *Best Film Editing (wins) *Best Production Design *Best Costume Design Category:Blog posts Category:Reviews Category:Historical Reviews